As I’ve argued for a long time, this is probably because there are few wolves to kill- It is a political article of faith in much of Idaho that wolves are the reason for the relatively low elk numbers in the area called “the Lolo.” The belief also blames wolves for the failure of elk…
Politicians scramble to find cuts. Now said to be chance to gut widely reviled program- Using federal dollars to kill our native wildlife. Economic hard times would say stop that kind of funding. But will it be stopped? Predator Defense knows these federal poisoners and gunners have nine lives, unlike the bobcats and cougar they…
Obama willing to waste billions of dollars to destroy the natural environment, less willing to spend a pittance to conserve it In a recent email from Vice President Joe Biden, the White House chose, among the umpteen thousand examples of government waste, a federally funded Desert Tortoise website as its whipping-boy to highlight what it…
This is a rational look at wolf-livestock, pet conflicts- By “rational,” I mean unemotional calculation of risk and costs/benefits of various actions. Ralph Maughan – – – – University of Wisconsin news release Livestock risks from Wisconsin wolves localized, predictable Wednesday, June 1, 2011 A map, generated by researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison and the…
Kathie Lynch has written her latest Yellowstone wolf report. It is always a cheer when Kathie writes about this place where wolves can live, wild and free. Wolf watching in April this year sounds very cold, but the wolves love it! Ralph Maughan – – – – – – – – – April 2011 wolf…
Predators help disperse salmon, nutrient on streambanks This article describes the results of a study suggesting another “trophic cascade” mechanism by which predators and salmon interact, enriching the diversity of plant-life in the world’s largest old-growth temperate rainforest: Pacific salmon run helps shape Canada’s ecosystems – BBC News The annual migration sees salmon return to western Canada…
Blaming wolves for poor elk management? The US Fish and Wildlife Service has issued an Environmental Assessment for Montana Fish Wildlife and Park’s wolf reduction proposal for the Bitterroot hunting district HD250 just southeast of Hamilton, Montana. In the proposal to kill all but 12 wolves in the district, they claim that wolves are responsible…
So then, maybe it should stop? Economist Ray Rasker spoke the obvious at University of Montana’s Conservation and Climate Change lecture series. He also talked a little politics. If there is no guarantee of the feeds throwing money to the wind to save houses along the national forest boundaries the counties might be a lot…
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan’s Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of “Hiking Idaho.” He also wrote “Beyond the Tetons” and “Backpacking Wyoming’s Teton and Washakie Wilderness.” He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.